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Religion or belief discrimination: Recent Covid-19 decisions and employment rights for anti-vaxxers

Sacha Sokhi explores two decisions which help to shed light on whether dismissals for refusing to be vaccinated or to attend the workplace due to Covid fears will be religion or belief discrimination Whether an employee claims belief discrimination, religious discrimination or breach of their human rights, the first-tier tribunals have made it clear that …
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Grievance procedures: Handling vexatious complaints in the workplace

Amanda Sanders and Joanna MacKenzie set out how to deal with false or frivolous grievances in light of a recent ruling Employers can take action against employees who bring repeated, frivolous grievances. However, any action taken in response should be fair and proportionate in the circumstances. Employers are often concerned about taking action against an …
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Technology: AI in the workplace – understand the legal risks

Gwynneth Tan, Siobhan Atkin and Luke Bernard examine the benefits and potential pitfalls of using automated decision-making when hiring and managing staff As technology develops at pace and as organisations seek to integrate AI into their working practices, they need to be alert to the unintended legal consequences from using these tools. As we move …
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Legal news: Employment update

Jo Broadbent rounds up recent developments affecting employers and their advisers Employers should expressly ask employees to agree to an extension of time if they will not be able to complete all stages of their flexible working procedure within three months. Express agreement was needed to extend time for flexible working request Employers must complete …
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Covid-19: What next after Plan B?

James Morrison looks at the issues facing employers following the lifting of Plan B restrictions and considers the risks involved in cutting sick pay for unvaccinated staff Employers may be able to show that disciplinary action for refusing to get vaccinated is reasonable or that the policy was objectively justified. However, in all cases, employers …
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Discrimination: Managing employees with dementia

Keely Rushmore examines the key points to take away from a recent decision that a 73-year-old Asda employee with memory problems suffered age and disability discrimination Cases such as Hutchinson highlight the importance of treating age-related illnesses as what they are: illnesses. Any underperformance or illness should be dealt with under the performance management or …
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Working time: The four-day week – is it right for your organisation?

Fiona Herrell weighs up the pros and cons of moving to a four-day working week with no loss of pay for staff Rolling out a four-day week on a trial basis will be the best way for employers to assess whether this way of working is suitable for their organisation and to iron out any …
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Secondary employment: What to do if an employee is working another job

Neha Thethi discusses the legal and practical issues to consider when an employee is working two jobs If an employer discovers that a member of staff is doing a second job, it should check their contract of employment before taking any action. Since the start of the pandemic, growing numbers of employees have seen an …
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Collective redundancies: Criminal liability for failure to submit an HR1 – who is at risk?

Anita Mulholland explores a recent decision on personal liability for failure to notify the Secretary of State of proposed collective redundancies Directors, managers – and now administrators – may face personal prosecution if they fail to submit an HR1 form within the prescribed time. In R (on the application of Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates’ …
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Workplace investigations: How to manage allegations fairly and effectively

Jemma Sherwood-Roberts and Nick Hine explain what issues businesses need to consider when investigating alleged misconduct or breaches of their internal processes There are several types of investigation that an employer may have to undertake, such as a disciplinary investigation into workplace misconduct, a grievance investigation or perhaps an investigation into something that has gone …
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